INTERSECTIONS OF SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MANAGERIAL EFFECTIVENESS: A CRITICAL STUDY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN ABUJA, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between social intelligence and managerial effectiveness of principals of secondary schools in Abuja, Nigeria. The study was guided by the correlational survey research design. The population of the study consisted 4,032 principals and teachers obtained from 60 senior public secondary schools in Abuja. The sample size of the study comprised of 62 principals and 341 teachers. respondents. Simple percentages, mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while the hypotheses were tested using Pearson’s product moment correlation at a 0.05 level of significance. The study used two instruments for data collection which made up of “Principals’ Social Intelligence Questionnaire” (PSIQ) and “Managerial Effectiveness Questionnaire” (MEQ). The instruments were pilot tested on 10 principals and 40 teachers and they produced the reliability indices of 0.78 and 0.72 respectively. The findings of the study indicated that there is a significant relationship between principals’ social awareness and managerial effectiveness of secondary schools in Abuja and there is a significant relationship between principals’ communication style and managerial effectiveness of secondary schools in Abuja. The study recommended that the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council should work on incorporating social intelligence into the curriculum of education for the training of teachers and future prospective principals in universities and colleges of education to build the social awareness of prospective principals.